Abstract

Abstract: Cognitive control refers to flexible and goal-directed action and it is a hallmark of human cognition. Its development has been predominantly described in terms of quantitative changes. An emerging perspective argues however that children deploy control in qualitatively different ways compared to adults. In this talk I will explore these qualitative differences by focussing on variability, metacognition and plasticity. I will leverage different methodologies (i.e. neuroimaging and computational modelling) to understand mechanisms of change and discuss how we can capitalise this to devise interventions at critical points of impact. Bio: Niko obtained his PhD in 2008 on the neuroscience of music, fittingly from the University of Leipzig. He then switched research fields to do a postdoc in developmental social neuroscience at the University of Zuerich. After becoming senior researcher and then group leader at the Max-Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Niko embarked on research fellowships at Weill Cornell Medical School and the Douglas Mental Health University Institute. In 2015 he joined the Department of Developmental Psychology of Leiden University as an Assistant Professor and in 2017 became an Associate Professor at UCL ’s Division of Psychology and Language Sciences. Niko holds several grants, including a Jacobs Fellowship, a Starting Grant from the European Research Council and most recently an ESRC -ORA grant. He has a broad interest in cognitive, social and affective development and he adopts a multimethod approach to address the operation of sensitive periods in childhood.